Donald Trump is openly wondering how much his presence at CNN’s upcoming Republican presidential debate is worth to CNN.
In a newly published interview, Trump floats the idea of asking the network to donate $10 million to charity in exchange for the GOP frontrunner’s appearance on stage in September.
“Here’s my question: So, if I go to CNN and I say, look, you’re going to have a massive audience, and if I say to them, I want $10 million for charity, nothing for myself, what happens?” Trump said in a new article by Time magazine. “I’m not showing up, right?”
“I’m not showing up unless you give $10 million to cancer, to this, to that,” he continued. “You pick 10 great charities, $1 million per. If I’m in it, they’ll get this crazy audience, and they’re going to make a fortune since they’re selling commercials every time we take a break. Would you ever say to them, would you ever say, I want $10 million for AIDS research, for cancer, for this type or not, or is it too cute?”
CNN’s debate is scheduled for Sept. 16. The last debate, hosted by Fox News, drew a record audience of 24 million TV viewers. Many media critics (and Trump himself) have credited a large portion of those ratings to Trump’s appearance in the debate.
Asked if CNN executives had seen Trump’s comments in the Time interview, a spokesperson for the network said, “No comment.”
